Tears for the Fallen
by Kyson Senarith
Summary: A young knight and wizard must uncover the secret behind the disappearance of a crusader. Pains of the past will surface, tears and blood will be shed, and a greater shadow will need to be overcome...
1. A Fruitless Search

**(A/N) **Seeing as this is my first try at this, could you kind readers please read and review it for me? I really want honest opinions from all of you good people. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading my fanfic just as much as I am enjoying the process of creating it.

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**Disclaimer:** Ragnarok Online is owned by the Gravity Corporation. Most the characters in this fanfic either belong to my friends or are of my own creation. There will also be a few characters that will come directly from the Ragnarok Online world (such as King Tristan the Third).

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_Tears for the Fallen_

**Chapter One: A Fruitless Search**

Joyful laughter gently echoed across the plain of the calm summer's day that had presented itself this fine afternoon. The sun held high in the sky and was never once shrouded by a cloud. This area outside the eastern gate of Prontera was always a welcoming spot for the two young swordsmen that rested themselves against two closely knit trees, who were busy taking a break from the training they put themselves through in Mandragora Forest. Lunatics, porings, and other small creatures that they had long since graduated from fighting went about their seemingly careless lives, ignoring the two for they were all peaceful little creatures. One of the two boys busied himself by watching a pair of thief bugs fight over a small crystal that he tossed over their way as the other swordsman chuckled lightly at this action.

The swordsman, who had stirred up the thief bugs, turned to his companion as he heard the laughter. His bright azure eyes held a rather menacing, yet serene glint as his short, white-blond hair blew gently in the breeze. The other swordsman gave his friend a nod of approval, letting his dark gray hair fall gently over his dark gray eyes.

"You never cease to amaze me, Thane, with how easily entertained you can be," The gray-haired swordsman said softly, still laughing softly at the way Thane had looked over at him.

"I just like to admire nature, Kyson, you know that," Thane replied.

"Admire!" Kyson said in a false shock, jokingly, "You mean torment, don't you? Some crusader you'll become one day..."

Kyson said the final words of his statement with a large grin on his lips, all of them obviously dripping with sarcasm. Thane picked up a small pebble and tossed it at his friend in rebuttal to the comment.

"Well, when I fail at becoming a crusader you drop your dreams of knighthood and become a merchant!" Thane yelled, jokingly as well.

Kyson laughed and nodded lightly, rubbing the spot on his head where the pebble had hit him even though it hadn't hurt. The whole merchant joke had been a running insult between the two young boys for quite some time now. They both had nothing against merchant class, but they felt that their jobs were just rather... dull.

The laughing in the field grew quieter, echoing slightly until it finally ended altogether. All of a sudden, Kyson's eyes blurred as he sat with Thane... only to be replaced by darkness.

There was a dank smell in the air as the area around him slowly came into view as he slowly awakened. The light was dim, lit by torches and beams of light that streamed through the cracks in the ceiling. Kyson could feel his body lying on the ground, feeling rather winded from what he now recalled as a heavy blow to his abdomen with the back end of an axe. His ears rang from the blow his head sustained from hitting the rock and dirt floor. As hearing and vision finally came back to perfection, he heaved himself off the ground only to be met by a woman shouting his name.

"Kyson! Ky!" she stopped as she saw him stand, "Thank Odin you're okay! Now help me over here! I can't keep this firewall holding forever you know!"

Wiping the bloody wound on his head with the back end of his left gauntlet, Kyson gripped his claymore in one hand as he turned and saw the woman who had been calling him. She held and Arc Wand, a staff of great magical power, in her left hand as she held her right palm out towards a Fire Wall she was continuously keeping ablaze. Her short blue-gray hair, as well as her wizard's robes danced wildly from the magical essence protruding from her very being. Turning her head toward him rather violently, she grit her teeth and stared at him with her sharp light-gray eyes.

"Now would be a good time for you to help me, Mr. Knight!" she yelled.

Giving his head a quick shake to fully steady himself, he gripped the sword with both hands as it had been designed for and began to concentrate. He could feel his muscles lose the aches and pain in them and his body began to feel as light as a feather. Breaking into a run, he opened his eyes and held his sword at the ready.

"Turn off the wall, Celi, let me finish this..."

As quickly as he had said his words, Celina gave him a rye grin and lowered her hand and staff. Kyson gallantly broke through the now faded wall of fire and came face to face with the enemy that she had been courageously fending off all this time...

"Orc Zombies... How I loathe thee..." he hissed.

Celina, with her grin still shining, eased herself onto a rock to rest; seeing as she was drained of pretty much all of her energy. She silently cursed herself for not being able to slaughter the hordes like she had always been able to, but something this time was just… different… They just didn't seem to stop coming.

Kyson set a heavy glare upon the group of undead orcs that were standing just a few feet in front of him; trying to pierce their bodies with nothing more than his deep gray eyes. Celina's Fire Wall had kept them from coming any closer because, as it seemed, they finally learned that contact with a wall of that magnitude meant instant "death" for them. The orcs slowly advanced toward the knight with their battle-axes brandished high in the air, ready to cleave in his skull without a moments notice. There were about 12 of them at the moment, easy prey for a knight of Kyson's caliber.

The first orc of the group let loose a battle cry and rushed forward, his eyes glowing red as he slashed downward at the smaller knight in front of him. Seeing the axe heading toward him from above, Ky raised his claymore and blocked the blow at a slant; letting the axe glance off as he swung deep into the orc zombie's side and let his blade go clean through his opponent, separating the body at the waist.

"One down..." Kyson whispered to himself, as the two pieces of orc fell to the musty, stone ground.

The orc in the front of the pack having been dispatched, the three directly behind him all converged on the knight with their axes swinging. With a quick and nimble back flip the knight dodged the triple-attack and waited for their next move. The orcs began walking toward him at their slow but steady pace, with their bodies remaining in a horizontal line as they came.

"As I always said, these things are too easy..." he said with a small grin.

Waiting for them to get a little closer, but not close enough for them to reach him with their weaponry, the knight held the flat of his blade in one hand and the handle in the other. The claymore began to shimmer as the orcs got right into the spot he wanted them in. Reclaiming the sword's handle with both hands once again, he slashed horizontally at his foes. At first, you'd have thought that he would have missed, but right after the slash had been completed there were three more orcs with their torso's separated from their lower halves. The invisible energy he had accumulated within his blade had been released and had instantly "killed" the three undead menaces.

"Eight to go..." he said to himself, keeping track of the kills in his head.

As Kyson readied himself to attack the remaining eight orcs, who were sticking together in a tight pack, a large bolt of lightning shot past him at an amazing speed and incinerated the group.

Kyson jolted around to see Celina holding her staff which was steaming at the tip. She was catching her breath, but had enough time to flash him a quick smile before the moans of more orc zombies filled the air. She had used the very last of her energy to cast that spell, and now she was completely drained for the time being.

Celina ran over next to Kyson, fear showing in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"Ky, they just keep coming! This mission's over; we'll have to find my brother later! There's no way we can survive down here any longer..."

She looked away from him, for she was embarrassed by the tears slipping from her eyes. Kyson, returning his claymore to its sheath, wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and hugged her softly. She shuddered from his touch but wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close; resting her cheek against his mail-covered shoulder.

"We have to report this situation to Prontera immediately," he said in a comforting tone.

Kyson gave a quick look around them and sighed. There were orc zombies everywhere now; all waiting to sink their axes into their soft flesh. Celina was now trembling in fright from having no way of protecting herself. All she could manage to do was hold him closer as he slipped a butterfly wing out of the pouch on his left side. Tightening his hold on her and closing his eyes, Kyson crushed the wing in his palm to magically teleport them back to the safety of Rune-Midgard's capital city.


	2. Briefing the Council

_Tears for the Fallen_

**Chapter Two: Briefing the Council**

Along one of the many sidewalks a pillar of blue light erupted from the streets of Prontera. The blue light quickly faded and Kyson and Celina stood where the pillar once shown. Celina still clung to the knight, softly crying into his armor as he stroked her hair as best he could with his gauntlets still equipped. She began to hiccup softly as she slowly began to calm down, the shuddering not ceasing whilst the tears may have.

"Shh..." Kyson whispered gently, "We'll be alright now. We're home now..."

The blue-gray haired wizard looked up at him with her light-gray eyes, now red and bloodshot from the tears. Her grip on him tightened as she rested her head against his chest. The hiccups finally stopped and the shuddering ended shortly after. Parting her lips to speak, she tried, but nothing came out. She closed her lips quickly and looked further toward the floor before opening them yet again, this time looking back up into the knight's deep, dark-gray gaze.

"I just... I just miss him so much..." she whimpered, sadness still looming in her eyes.

"I know, dearest... I do too..." Kyson whispered, giving her a small kiss on the forehead.

Finally moving from their teleported location, the two walked silently along the stone streets of the bustling city with their arms interlocked. As they strolled they passed many sights that were just natural to the city. Merchants all fought each other for the best prices on their goods; stray animals stole food from fruit venders, and people hailing from every city and town on Rune-Midgard all occupied this busy capitol. However, their destination wasn't a local bizarre or a shop, but Prontera castle where the king, Tristan the Third, himself resided along with the Grand Council that governed Midgard.

Reaching the castle, the gigantic stone building loomed over them as they stood in front of the large wooden doors. Quickly toward the main gate the knight and the wizard separated from their hold on each other and walked right up to the huge door of the stronghold. A guard stopped them right when they reached the barrier and politely demanded that they state their name and business.

"Captain Celina Airyath of the Third Wizard Division," Celina motioned to herself, "and Captain Kyson Senarith of the Second Knight Division." She gestured over to Kyson who was to her right. "We are here to speak to King Tristan and the Grand Council. We have been investigating the disappearance of Crusader, Thane Airyath, as per their requested instructions," she said steadily; her voice never wavering or showing emotion to the guard.

"Very well, come this way," the guard stated with a nod of approval, opening the large door to the castle to let them through.

Entering the building the two were greeted with a large, white marble hall that lead straight down through the castle. Many rooms branched off the central hall and numerous staircases were connected to certain parts, granting access to other area of the castle. Following the guard half way down the hall he motioned them onto a staircase to their left. The staircase was rather large and took about a minute to finally climb to the top step. This floor of the castle was set alone for the meeting of the Grand Council that governed the cities of Rune-Midgard. A single representative from every city, as well as the king himself was always present whenever the council met. A large wooden door was set in front of the lone room on the floor, which the guard quickly opened for the couple. As soon as the two were inside, the large door was shut and the guard departed to return to his post in front of the castle's main door.

The council looked the two over as they entered the room, muttering amongst themselves until the king stood from his seat to speak.

"Captains, welcome. I trust this unannounced visit is not a social call?"

King Tristan spoke in a jolly tone, much like a grandfather would his grandchildren. Kyson only sighed and nodded as Celina stepped foreword to address the council herself.

"King Tristan and other esteemed members of the council, I bid you greetings from the both of us. As you already know, the two of us were dispatched in an attempt to locate the missing captain from the church's crusader units. Following the small leads we had, we last tracked his whereabouts to the caves of the orc inhabited lands. As is common knowledge of that area, the caves within those lands are filled with the undead ancestors of the warrior race."

Celina stopped for a moment, the events of the past few hours rushing to the surface of her thoughts. She unknowingly shuddered visibly before everyone, but they just leaned foreword and rested against the long wooden table they sat at and waited for her to finish.

"Upon entering the caves we were met with fierce resistance," Celina continuted, "as was expected. But… something was odd… Something differed from the scouting reports and our own first-hand accounts of the creatures in the cave. Usually they just attack wildly, seeing as they are undead. They only have the basic instincts of killing and eating. However, this time they seemed…" she paused to think of a word, "Coordinated. I figured this out when they seemed to learn how deadly the fire walls I was casting really were. I'm sure you all know how they brainlessly charge the walls only to be burned to a crisp, yes?"

The council representative from Geffen grinned and nodded. The man being a wizard, he no doubt had fought against the undead fiends in one of their little riots to free themselves from the caves to destroy the living world above.

"After I had only cast a few walls, they began to hold back and not rush them as per their usual manner. Being surprised by a group, Kyson was bludgeoned in the back by an axe and knocked out. I easily kept them at bay, after taking care of the ones near Kyson's unconscious form, by casting fire walls in a pattern around us until he came to."

The council members seemed astonished at the findings of the two captains from the Pronteran army. As the young wizard had said, there had never been an account of the undead orcs actually… learning.

"After Sir Kyson woke up, we dispatched the rest of the group that was in front of us. Our peace was short lived however. Orc Zombie reinforcements came within seconds and were everywhere around us. The only thing we could do to survive was to teleport back here, to Prontera. As for the crudaser Captain, my brother, we found no trace of him during the fighting."

Celina looked toward the floor to hide a few tears that slipped from her eyes at her final words. Kyson's gentle hand reached up and held her by the shoulder, and she placed her own atop it. She quickly wiped the tears with her robes and looked back to the council.

"Wizard Captain Airyath. Knight Captain Senarith. Thank you for your report. We'll try our best to obtain another lead that may shed some light on the crusader's location. As for you two, you've had a rough day… Go get some rest and we'll send a messenger if we discover anything at all."

King Tristan spoke with the uttermost kindness in his words. Kyson and Celina bowed respectfully to the council and made their way down the stairs and out of the castle. Passing the guard at the front gate they said a kind "goodbye" and ventured out into the streets of the city.

"We'll find him, Celi, I know we will…" Kyson said with an unsure look on his face.

Celina smiled at his attempt to make her feel better and turned to him; pausing their walk. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down, and kissed him lovingly on the lips. Ending the kiss, she rested her forehead against his and looked into his eyes.

"I hope you're right, "she said smiling; trying to keep her spirits high, "As long as I have you I won't lose hope."

The two resumed walking toward the south-eastern section of the city where their house resided. As they were entering the block in which they lived, they passed about six houses just outside their area that looked newer than the rest, and the sight of them made Kyson stop dead in his tracks. His eyes fixated on the fourth house of the six, he closed his eyes and fell to his knees while beginning to sob softly. Celina dropped down with him and wrapped her arms around his body, trying to comfort him.

He opened his tear-stained eyes and looked at the house. Its wood and paint job reflected more light than the other houses around them, just like the other five in the group. They stood out so well from the others, and it pained him greatly. Memories of a year prior rushed his conscious thoughts as he naturally reacted to Celina's embrace and held her tightly…

"Mom… Dad…" he managed to whimper, but nothing more.

The wind blew gently, silencing any other noise around them except for the echoes of Kyson's own tears landing against the cold, stone road.


	3. Snowflakes and Embers

_Tears for the Fallen_

**Chapter Three: Snowflakes and Embers**

_...One Year Earlier..._

The winter months were always a peaceful time in the capital of Rune-Midgard. Snow fell slowly and covered the city with a fine powder that gave the city a fine, white hue. Most people loved the snow, performing their daily tasks outside with their heavier clothing on, while others preferred to stay indoors with the warmth of a flame beside them. Apart from the overall cheerfulness of the city during this period, there was one other special event that was always a joy to behold: The Swordsman Promotion Ceremony. Even though they were made swordsmen and swordswomen in the satellite town of Izlude, these trainees became Knights or Crusaders within the walls of Prontera.

Just inside the main square surrounding the beautiful fountain devoted to Odin, who is the god of Rune-Midgard, the swordsmen and swordswomen gathered along with their friends and family. The Knight Commander of Prontera's army, Kael Vastic, and the Crusader Commander of the church's legions of crusaders, Palaes Rainesford, were standing atop a rather large platform that had been erected for the ceremony. From this platform they kept a close watch on all of the graduates; all of whom had worked very hard in order to make it here this fine day. All of them showed extreme prowess in their abilities and the two commanders were grateful that they all continued to show dedication to their profession. Both knew that they would be able to protect this city well if the need arise.

Two swordsmen, Kyson Senarith and Thane Airyath, stood a ways off to the left of the massive crowd and were conversing amongst themselves. Both of them were extremely anxious to get the ceremony underway because the sooner it ended they would no longer just be trainees.

"Why can't he just start this thing already? I want my armor!" Thane impatiently sputtered.

Kyson just stood there and laughed at his friend, before Thane rapped on his head with his knuckles.

"Please just calm down, my friend. Our promotions will both come when it's time. Just let Commanders Vastic and Rainesford do their jobs," Kyson quietly replied.

Almost exactly as soon as Kyson finished speaking, the sounds of horns blowing harmoniously could be heard echoing throughout the entire capital city. The Swordsman Promotion Ceremony had begun. In tandem, all of the swordsmen and swordswomen, including Kyson and Thane, gathered closer to the platform that the commanders were standing on and waited for them to speak.

Commander Kael Vastic stepped forth first and raised his hand. At once the horns and all those who were around were silent, leaving Kael with a small grin. Raising his arms to his sides, he let his voice out in a volume that everyone could hear.

"Greetings, one and all! Thank you all for attending this annual event that we have all made into a wonderful celebration. Today, as you all know, is the day that we congratulate our young swordsmen and woman and grant them passage into a greater profession. I'm sure you've all decided which profession would suit you best, and I know you will not disappoint either Commander Rainesford or myself when you become one of our subordinates. One by one we shall call you forth to come atop the platform and receive your title. Afterwards you can go to the armory to receive a blade that was just recently forged just for you by the blacksmiths of Rune-Midgard, and your new armor. Now, Commander Rainesford, if you would be so kind as to begin calling up our new knights and crusaders."

Though there were many people at this event, there were only one-hundred and fifty swordsmen that were here to graduate. Thane was pretty much just bouncing with anticipation while Kyson stood there with a smile and kept his arms folded behind his back. Today was just wonderful. His hard work had finally paid off.

"Gage Terihe!" Commander Rainesford began. The whole crowd cheered as the young swordsman walked up the platform and was knighted by Commander Vastic.

One by one the swordsmen were either knighted to become knights or ordained to become crusaders for the church. After about an hour or so, all one-hundred and fifty graduates were standing around the fountain all clad in their new armor and carrying their new armament on their side, while the two commanders went back to their busy schedules.

Kyson stood off to the side once again, this time admiring his newly forged claymore. On the hilt was a crest of a blue raven, and that symbol was one he knew as the signature mark of his blacksmith friend Daren Revan.

"Fine work, Daren. I shall not misuse this fine blade," he said quietly to himself before seeing Thane walk over with someone following behind him.

"Kyson! Look at you, you sexy beast! That knight armor makes you look awesome!" Thane burst out as he clapped Kyson on the back with his new gauntlets. Kyson easily sheathed his blade and looked to his friend.

"Wow, Thane, you look like you could stop a horde of oncoming minorous' with that armor," he paused to glance over at the girl who had follow Thane over before looking back to his friend, "and is that how a defender of the church should really talk, especially in front of a lady?"

"A lady? Hah! She's no lady! That's Celina, my sister. She was one of the biggest tomboys I knew while we grew up!"

Celina, a girl with short blue-gray hair, light gray eyes, and who was dressed in the garb of a mage grinned and put her hand on Thane's armor. In an instant, she unleashed a rather substantial jolt of electricity into his oridicon armor which was a good conductor for the element. Thane's hair stood on end and his eyes widened when he felt it, seeing as it made his body jolt around. Not speaking, he was only able to turn around slightly to see her walk off right after his little torture session.

"Haha, now you really deserved that, my friend. She seems like a tough one to have grown up with," Kyson said amidst his laughter.

Thane coughed a few times and smoothed his blond-white hair back down, "Argh, I forgot she could do that... What's even worse is that she came here just before her own graduation ceremony back home in Geffen."

"Wait, how can that be worse?" asked Kyson, puzzled.

Thane sighed as he thought about it, "Wizards learn Jupitel Thunder..."

Once again Kyson laughed before leading his friend away from the crowd in order to go celebrate like the others.

Many hours later it was very late out now and the snow was continuing to fall all around Prontera. Most of newly promoted knights and crusaders had gone to bars in order to celebrate and were most likely plastered right now. Thane and Kyson just decided to wander around the city instead, seeing as they both didn't like alcohol. Nobody was around them, but they had an eerie feeling that they were being watched.

Two pairs of eyes, one of emerald radiance and of shining of bright azure, watched the two from atop a nearby rooftop. The two people grinned and looked at the other roofs around them. On top of each one was a single person, totaling up to be twelve, including themselves.

"Well, Reily... I say it's time we get our little show on the road, don't you agree?" the azure-eyed woman said to her partner.

"Keyla, I'm ready. Whenever you wish," The emerald-eyed woman replied in a low voice.

Keyla made a gesture with her right hand and the other ten shadowy figures vanished from atop their roofs and reappeared in the alleys below.

The area in which Kyson and Thane were walking and talking in was in the small southeast corner of Prontera, and it was the section that Kyson had grown up. Thane had also spent a lot of time over Kyson's house after training sessions and just to hang out. Geffen was too far away so Kyson never met Thane's family; besides, Thane was staying at a relative's house here in Prontera on the northern side.

"Today was wonderful. I mean, look at us! We finally made it, Thane." Kyson said happily.

"Of course we did! Now we just need to do what we've always wanted to do, and that is to defend the people of Rune-Midgard." Thane happily replied.

After that little spec of their conversation, Keyla, who was still atop the roof, gave another gesture with her hand and Reily vanished from the rooftop. Within seconds, one of the houses closest to the two graduates exploded in a burst of flame, sending the two men flying back from it.

"By the nine hells, what was that!" Thane shouted, hopping to his feat and drawing his shield from his back and the new flamberge that was sheathed in the scabbard on his waist.

In the same motion he used to jump to his feet, Kyson also withdrew his claymore and readied for an attack. The only attack that came was the house next to the other one bursting into a fiery inferno as well. The two men wished that there was something that they could do for the people in those houses, but they knew that they were already dead. All they could do now was to defeat those responsible, as was their sworn duty.

The shadowy figures in the alleys burst forward from the shadows and surrounded the two. They were all thieves from Morroc and were armed each with a dagger of their choosing. The sky was now filled with the snow that was continuously falling as well as the embers from the flames of the two burning houses. Kyson and Thane stood back-to-back just as the thieves began their assault.

Two thieves rushed each of them with incredible speed, but having seen many thieves in their swordsmen days the two were easily prepared for this. Kyson was the first to be slashed at: one aimed for his upper torso while the other went for his head. Kyson put his sword adjacent to his face and torso, vertically, and blocked the blades. With a swift and effective counter-attack, the knight connected the hilt of his claymore with one of the thief's face, breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious, while the other one received a large gash to his torso immediately after. Thane's attackers went down easily as well because a swift bash to the head with a large shield is enough to render a man's skull broken while a swift decapitation leads to death as well. After seeing their comrades fall so quickly, the other thieves backed away like the cowards they really are, but before the men could relax, another house erupted into a blaze.

'_Why is this happening! I need to end this before my parents join the others in death!' _Kyson thought to himself.

"Well, well, well, Little Brother. That was some very fancy fighting you just did. Kudos to your knight friend as well," echoed a voice.

"Little Brother, eh? WHY NOT JUST SHOW YOURSELF, KEYLA! You know you're just a coward for sending your cronies after us!"

Instantly, Keyla Airyath appeared before the two men. She was clad in the traditional garb of a rogue but she was wearing a long yellow ribbon that was tied around her torso and hung off her body for about 3 feet. It gently trailed in the snow as she walked toward them.

"...I'm kind of glad I've never met your family before, Thane..." Kyson said through grit teeth. The knight was bristling with anger. His dark gray eyes were fixated on the rogue.

Another house burst into flame, making four houses now full of dead civilians.

"Well it seems Reily is doing her job nicely... Those Fire Bombs she got from her sister really seem to be coming in handy, don't you think?"

The rogue spoke with sheer bloodlust in her voice, but the sound was obscurely still tender to the ear. Her eyes were those of a killer and they were full of hate for the world. Her snowy-white hair danced gently in the wind that gusted by, carrying embers and snowflakes by with it. She poised her lithe figure and stopped walking only to make a gesture with her hand yet again. The six remaining thieves came back and stood beside Keyla, just as two more fire bombs went off, sending the two remaining houses in the small block into an abyss of fire and death. The people in the houses would normally have been able to escape after hearing the explosions, but it was very late at night so many were sleeping and even if they did awake it seems that this Reily had prevented anyone from leaving.

Kyson's eyes filled with rage as he looked at his house, now engulfed in flame as his parents lay burned to death within it. There was nothing he could have done to save them. Even if he had tried to do anything Keyla and Reily would have prevented him from succeeding and he knew that they could probably take him out.

"I..." Kyson was lost for words, "By my hands, one day I shall slay you..." his voice was nothing more than a whisper, but the rogue smiled when she heard this.

"Seeing as I didn't feel like attacking my own family, because as they all cast spells that hurt more than Odin sneezing, I figured I'd cause anger and despair to your closest friend. Isn't that sweet of me, Thane? Aren't I the big sister you ALWAYS wanted! You can tell our parents that I am not dead and I am living my life how I damn well please. They can take their magic and eat it for all I care. Even you received a small bit of healing power! What did I get? I got stunning good looks and quick hands that could slay one-hundred knights in less than ten minutes!"

Keyla snapped her fingers and Reily appeared next her from the shadows. The girl was an assassin, and she damn well looked the part. It looks like a few people did try to escape the other houses, because her clothes were stained with their blood. All she did was stare at them as her long violet hair swayed in front of her eyes. In another instant the two vanished, leaving just the two men and the thieves.

One thief ran up quickly toward Thane and threw a ball of sand at his face. Thane was too slow to react and both of his eyes were blinded for the moment by the sand. He fell to his knees because of the pain. His eyes burned and he tried to rub out the sand, though that was an entirely fruitless endeavor. The thief that threw the ball didn't live more than ten seconds afterward because Kyson's claymore descended from above him and cleaved the boy in half. Kyson's eyes were filled with the lust for blood: The blood of the ones who took his family from him. While attacking another thief and taking her out with a horizontal slash that went through her torso, two thieves impaled Kyson through the right side of his armor. He yelled in pain, but that didn't stop him. The two wounds were bleeding profusely but all he did was elbow one of the thieves in the chest, get him in a headlock with his right arm and then effortlessly snapped the boy's neck. The other thief that stabbed him barely dodged the next swing Kyson made with his blade, but because of this the other two thieves were able to deliver a blow to Kyson's back. Yet again he yelled in pain, but at the same time grabbed one of the thieves and hurled the boy into the nearest inferno of a house to be burned alive just like the innocents that were in it.

The two remaining thieves of the six glanced at each other, worry now on their faces. This knight was powerful, and their lives were not worth trying to slay him. They quickly nodded to each other that they should leave, but before they could vanish into the shadows, Kyson appeared in front of them with speed that he did not have previously and proceeded to slash the two horizontally with one swing, severing their torsos.

The snow around them was either melted from the infernos or caked with the blood from the fighting. The fires would put themselves out after a while. Kyson felt extremely weak; he had slain the thieves, but he had still failed to save his parents. Taking a few steps toward Thane, the knight collapsed to his knees and then fell face first into the snow while dropping his claymore. His four dagger wounds had been bleeding profusely; his rage had been the only thing keeping him from losing consciousness during the battle.

Thane had only partially regained sight, but he could see enough to know that the battle was over and his friend needed medical attention badly. The crusader walked over to the knight and heaved him up on his shoulders and he started toward the hospital that was run by the priests at the church. A soft, feminine laugh could be heard along the wind as he went. His top priority right now was to get Kyson help, and his second priority was something he never thought he'd have to do...

"I will avenge your parents, Ky... I promise..."


	4. Love and Healing

_Tears for the Fallen_

**Chapter Four: Love and Healing**

_...One Year Earlier (continued)..._

There was a heavy sorrow draped upon Prontera the following morn. All of the new graduates felt completely ashamed of themselves, having either been out of the city or just getting smashed at a local tavern to celebrate their promotions. The six flaming houses had burned themselves to ash before any wizards could come and put it out, seeing as every single one was so "conveniently" preoccupied with their own promotion ceremony up in Geffen for all of the new wizards. Knights had secured the scene, eventually, and had found no trace of who had caused the chaos...

Meanwhile, at the city's hospital that is run by the priests and priestesses from the church, Kyson began to stir in his achy slumber. Nightmares of the previous night etched the entire situation into his mind forever. His parents hadn't a chance to escape. They had two choices: die within the flames, or die by the hands of that violet-haired assassin. The events played through his dreams once more, but as the final two fire bombs burst the last two houses into a fiery abyss, Kyson's eyes shot open and he found himself drenched in a cold sweat.

The knight stared straight at the ceiling. Judging by the overly white looks of it, the sounds of the building, and the feel of the bed that he was in, he deducted that he was lying in a bed at the hospital. His entire body ached, especially his back and side which bore the four dagger wounds. It hurt him to even try moving his left arm to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Don't you even think about it," a female voice said, rather sternly.

Right as he heard the voice, Kyson obeyed and lowered his arm back down onto the blanket. Right away he felt a cloth wipe the sweat from his face. He could probably get used to this kind of treatment, if only getting wrecked in a battle didn't have to come first.

"There, better?" the voice said more tenderly this time.

Kyson let his head turn toward the speaker, ignoring the slight pain that shot up his neck as he did. He was greeted by a wizard, who was just placing the cloth down on the nightstand next to his bed. The girl looked very familiar, probably since he met her very briefly yesterday. She gave him a little smile when he didn't answer her question, hoping to probe a reaction.

Kyson could feel the blood rush to his cheeks as he blushed, "Yes, thank you, Miss... Celina was it? Congratulations on your wizard promotion."

"Thank you very much. Oh! You don't have to call me Miss, silly. You get points for remembering my name though, seeing as Thane only said it once," she paused for a moment and glanced at the door, "Speaking of my brother, he's probably out there hitting on the priestess who patched you up..."

Kyson felt the hair on his arms and head stand up a bit when he saw her right arm crackle with magical energy. Yea, she was mad, and it was probably some lightning spell from the current that was being produced; plus, as with what she did to Thane yesterday, he could tell she was rather proficient with electricity.

"Some crusader he is... I bet the church will revoke his promotion in less than a month," Celina said in a rather ticked-off tone.

"I know just how you feel," Kyson said laughing, "but he does his duty well and that is what has kept him in the church's favor so far."

"Well, I guess I should go fetch him. He was the one who had asked me to watch over you until you woke up," she flushed a slight red before hurrying out the door.

Kyson laughed inwardly to himself, having noticed her face's change of color, and grinned as Celina pushed Thane into his room. Thane stumbled in but grabbed the doorway for support as he spun around to try and get one last look at the priestess that he was flirting with.

"Hey, Ky, you think I have a chance with that 'walking potion'?" Thane asked, sounding rather desperate for a relationship.

"Well, for starters, I think calling her a 'priestess' and not a 'walking potion' would grant you a better chance," Kyson paused when Thane turned to face him, revealing his patched right eye, "I guess your right eye got hurt more from all that sand?"

Thane took a seat in chair positioned at Kyson's before he said anything, "I just need to wear this damn thing for a while; that's about it. You though... you were really thrashed up last night." A large grin settled on his lips, "Also, it seems my sister wanted to sit extremely close to our once-sleeping knight right here while he was out cold."

"Oh really?" Kyson sputtered.

Thane chuckled, "Even though she's never met you before, she has had a crush on you since she first saw a picture of us in our swordsmen days."

"Now that's quite a long time," Kyson said in disbelief, "She is quite good looking herself..."

Thane started to make himself look rather idiotic by making little "kissy" noises, "So do I already hear wedding bells in the future?"

"Um, hello? I've known her for less than ten minutes!" the knight barked back.

All of a sudden, a knock was heard right behind Thane. The crusader pretty much stopped breathing because he could pretty much guess who it was, and that she wasn't happy. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he cocked his head back to confirm who was right behind him. Sure enough, it was his sister with a sphere of Jupitel Thunder spinning in her right palm.

"Shutting up now," he said, and quickly darted past her and out of the room as fast as he could.

Celina shook her head gently; her brother really wasn't very bright. Closing her hand she let the sphere of thunder dissipate before using her other to shut the door behind her.

"Guessing you heard what he was saying?" Kyson asked.

Celina grinned at the knight and began to play with the cape of her wizard's garb, "Perhaps it was for the best... I was too shy to tell you on my own..."

Kyson laughed softly, frowning a bit after, "Maybe it was..."

The wizard's cheeks flushed at those words but she grew confused after seeing his sad face, "...what's wrong?"

"It's just," the knight paused, "Aside from my parents... Thane's been the only other person in my life until yesterday. Now that Mom and Dad are gone..."

A few tears slid from Kyson's eyes and landed on his pillow, since he was still lying down. Almost on instinct Celina was sitting on his bed and holding his hand in an attempt to comfort the injured knight. Taking the cloth from before off the nightstand, she wiped his tears of his face, leaving him with a gentle smile.

"You may be a fiery one, as your brother says, but you do have a pure heart," he returned her hold by placing his other hand, as annoyingly painful as it was to move it, onto hers. He instantly saw he blush when he did so, but she smiled after and that made him so joyful that he couldn't help but smile as well.

_...One week after the events in the hospital..._

The sounds of swords clashing together could be heard somewhere in Mandragora Forest as anyone left through the east gate of Prontera. The sounds led to a clearing that was just dashing with sunlight on this lovely winter's morn. Some may have called them insane for being out in the cold weather, but Kyson and Thane knew they had to be in the best shape that they could be to do their job effectively. The two boys had been at it for almost an hour now, and their sparing showed no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Thane met the knight's overhead slash with the shield on his left arm and quickly brushed it aside, trying to make room for his own attack. Kyson saw the crusader's blade coming in from his left side and quickly readied his parry at the last second. The block was successful and with that he shoved back on Thane's sword which made the other boy loose his balance, leaving the knight open for a counter-attack. Kyson dropped down onto his right hand and knocked Thane down to the floor with a sweeping kick, quickly then spinning back to his feet as the crusader fell onto his back. Instantly, before Thane could even react, Kyson had his claymore above the crusader's throat and he had a large grin on his face.

"Good match, Thane. Good match," he said as he pulled Thane back to his feet and then placing his claymore back into its scabbard.

"You do realize that I've yet to beat you at all right? Aren't you the one who should still be resting?" Thane asked quizzically.

"That is exactly what he should be doing, my young crusader," said a new voice.

From behind them, a blonde-haired man dressed in the garb of a high priest stepped forward. It seems that he had watched their little "show" before finally revealing himself. Both of the boys knew exactly who he was, and why he was a tiny bit unhappy with Kyson. The high priest looked in his late thirties, but it just happened to be that he was actually the youngest high priest ever to be ordained by the church in a very long time. He has held this position for more than ten years already.

"Father Kura... I'm sorry for disobeying your order as the head of the hospital, but, as you can see, I'm feeling perfect again," Kyson said while looking into the priest's eyes. His own eyes showed the sincerity and dedication of a knight of Prontera.

Father Kura merely chuckled and quickly cast a small amount of his healing power onto both of them to fix up whatever small wounds they may have scuffed up during their sparing, "There's no need to get defensive, Son. I can see that you're well now but it still is a good idea to get some rest after sustaining an injury like you did. Healing magic can only go so far, my young knight, and the rest of your recovery is up to you. I just want to make sure you're as fit as a fiddle before you go into any real combat."

"I thank you for your kindness, Father, but with the care of my friends I'm feeling just fine now," the knight replied.

Right after he had finished speaking, a sphere of lightning flew from the bushes nearest Kura and pegged Thane square in the chest, sending him flying back eight feet and onto his back.

"And I thought you crusaders are supposed to be on alert at all times!" giggled Celina as she burst from her hiding spot right after the sphere had made its impact. She jogged over to Kyson and held him on the arm while he looked over at Thane who was glaring comically at his sister. Kura hung his head down at the trio and quickly healed Thane once more.

"You three..." he was going to dissapline them, being the head of the church, but he figured he would just let it go, "Have a good time. I'll see you all later, but not so soon I hope. I spend most of my time at the hospital dealing directly with the patients so I should hope that you won't be getting injured again for a very long time."

With that said, he smiled at them and quickly chanted a teleportation spell that sent him back to the city. Thane got back to his feet and looked like he wanted to hit Celina right in the face, but she ducked behind Kyson who looked at his friend and shrugged before ruffling up the girl's hair a bit.

"I'm gonna get you back for all this one day, Sis," he threatened jokingly.

Celina laughed, "You can't hit me because I'm a girl! Boys can't hit us because it's not nice. Right, Ky?"

Celina tugged at his arm and smiled. The knight looked back and forth between Celina and Thane, rather awkwardly, "Well she is right, you know."

"Great!" the crusader said loudly, "She already has you turned against your best friend!" He laughed at the couple and grinned when he saw their eyes widen at his words, "How like love."

The little trio walked back to the city of Prontera seeing as the cold was finally getting to them, and since the sparring session had been finished for quite a while. Kyson always looked down the length of the city at where his house and those around it once stood, but never since that day has he gone anywhere near it. Thane's house was in the complete opposite direction and the crusader had been nice enough, seeing as he is his best friend, to give him a room of his own for as long as he needed.

"Well, home sweet home," Thane sang as he walked through the door, "I'll start cooking up something for..." he stopped speaking as he turned around and looked through the doorway to see Kyson and his sister kissing each other in a passionate embrace. Separating their lips, the two stopped, rested their foreheads together and just gazed into each other's eyes.

Thane was happy for both of them. Kyson had a family again with Celina and himself, while Celina now finally was with the swordsman, now knight, that she had been dreaming about since the beginning of her mage training. He laughed to himself and turned around and headed toward the kitchen, "I'll just go make some dinner and leave you two alone."


End file.
